01. Surfer GirlWithin the selection given, any half-way reasonable version of it would be my #1. And this one isn't just another acceptable version, but rather the one and only modern and unplugged effort to do justice to this great song. The old boys at their very best. What a document.

02. Rio GrandeAdvanced, even avant-garde kind of pop music. Released during his hardest time, this is a huge "hi out there, I'm still alive, and I can fire out something like this whenever I like to".

03. Heroes and VillainsI don't particularly like this version, though for sure it's a complete and authentic one. I prefer the live version from 2004 at the beginning of Julian Korph's famous YT upload, representing one of the greatest live performances I've ever seen, not only by Brian Wilson and his fantastic band.

05. Miss YouI get to hear this repeatedly during the last weeks, and I like it. It's one of the songs I will recently whistle for myself when stepping through the office floors.

06. What Ever HappenedLovely, but not one of the best from NPP. GYHTBT and the "pocket Darling" Don't Worry are my favourites.

07. All Summer LongI love this song because it used to play, by default, on the former BW blueboard site at the time when Michael Jackson passed, and when I was looking for a substitute to follow. I'll never forget the moment of enlightenment when I realized that "SMiLE" was much more than MJ's favourite song.

08. #9 Dreamreally nice, but sloppily produced. He and Yoko could do greater things together, such as their Chrstmas standard, or their unbelievably cute "Oh Yoko". To me, one of history's cutest couples anyway.

09.I Go to Piecesjust another nice boygroup ballad from the sixties

10. A Whiter Shade of Paleearth culture heritage, molested by music students.

10 points: Heroes and Villains = sublime whatever version is delivered - though i would've included 'in the church of the american indian' (and would've loved to see our dear chum matthew lock's diveo, which was runner up to this,the competition winner, but too much of a 'yellow submarine' pastiche).

9: 'Rio Grande' = can still recall the surprise and delight when i heard this, proof that mr wilson hadn't lost it on his re-emergence. very ambitious. it could've fallen flat, but didn't. bravo...

8: '#9 Dream' = lennon less saccharin than macca when it comes to sentiment. i still swoon.

7: 'All Summer Long' = yeah, this far up this chart. still fresh.

6: 'The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore' = not their best, but fab.

5: 'Miss You' = already...

4: 'Whatever Happened' = indeed...

3: 'Surfer Girl' = how many years ago already? rather nice, but...

2: I Go to Pieces' = good enough for higher elsewhere (should i wave a union jack?).

Congratulations also to Tom Tobben who selected ‘Rio Grande’ in his Week 12.

Five of the week’s recordings had been used before in the Battle.

This is their Battle history…

'#9 Dream' (John Lennon):

- a Silver in Week 15 of Season I (Verden McCutcheon),- a Silver in Week 8 of Season V (Popeye (not the sailor)), 3rd in Silver Play-Off,- a Gold in Week 9 of Season IX (Deb#1), 7th in Preliminary Final

‘The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine Anymore’ (The Walker Brothers):

- a Gold in Week 12 of Season I (Prodigal Son), - a Bronze in Week 39 of Season I (Roy Roger Bridge), - a Gold in Week 10 of Season IX (Cindy Hood), 2nd in Preliminary Final *

‘Rio Grande’ (Brian Wilson):

- a Gold in Week 18 of Season II (Teenage Symphony), - a Silver in Week 4 of Season VII (t Bedford), 3rd in Silver Play-Off,- a Gold in Week 12 of Season IX (Tom Tobben), 3rd in Preliminary Final *

‘All Summer Long’ (The Beach Boys):

- a Gold in Week 24 of Season V (Cindy Hood), 4th in Preliminary Final, - a Gold in Week 21 of Season IX (Al Forsyth), 5th in Preliminary Final

‘Heroes and Villains’ (The Beach Boys from The Smile Sessions):

- a Gold in Week 1 of Season IV (Al Forsyth), 2nd in Preliminary Final, 6th in Gold Play-Off,- a Gold in Week 36 of Season IX (Cindy Hood), 1st in Preliminary Final *

* still in contention

Various other versions of ‘Heroes and Villains’ have been used. They are…

The 1967 released version:- a Gold in Week 6 of Season I (t Bedford), 3rd in Gold Play-Off (Season Bronze), - 11th in the Ultimate Battle (to commemorate the first five seasons of the Battle)

A live version from 2012:- a Gold in Week 4 of Season V (paul g adsett)

Parts 1 & 2 from The Smile Sessions(1966 & 1967/2011):- a Gold in Week 38 of Season VIII (GGH)

Additionally, the 1963 studio recording of ‘Surfer Girl’ is a past season winner (Season IV).

In theory, this week’s Top 3 may just be the top three songs of the year. We’ll know by this time next week.

Over the past nine years, the first place winners of the Preliminary Final, and their eventual placings, have been:

Twelve of the 14 voters had it in their Top 5. Nine of those had it in their Top 3. Its lowest rankings were a 6th (from Verden McCutcheon) and a 7th (from Deb#1).

Eleven of the 14 voters had ‘The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine Anymore’ in their Top 5. Seven of those had it in their Top 3.

At times during the week, ‘Rio Grande’ was struggling. After eight voters, it was coming 8th. It clinched its vital 3rd spot with the last voter, bonnie bella, ironically displacing her host song during the year, ‘Surfer Girl’, from the Gold Play-Off.

Eight voters had ‘Rio Grande’ in their Top 5. Four voters had it in their bottom 3.

Unlike last week, from the 13 voters who ranked all 10 songs, only five songs received BOTH multiple Top 3 AND multiple bottom 3 rankings. They were ‘#9 Dream’ (three and six), ‘Rio Grande’ (six and four), ‘Surfer Girl’ (four and three), ‘I Go to Pieces’ (three and five) and ‘Miss You’ (four and two).

They were your polarisers.

As predicted, ‘I Go to Pieces’ faired far better with the US voters. Of the six US voters, four had it in their Top 5, its lowest being an 8th (from Cindy). From the remaining eight voters, only two had it in their Top 5, both from Australia. The two Brits voted it 10th and 9th.

Insert Photos

Web address (URL)

Image URL

If your URL is correct, you'll see an image preview here. Large images may take a few minutes to appear.
Remember: Using others' images on the web without their permission may be bad manners, or worse, copyright infringement.